International Dream Cup 2017 Third Match vs U-16 Guinea National Team 
18 June 2017(Sun.) Kick-off 14:30  Playing Time 90min. (45min x 2）
Yurtec Stadium Sendai（City of Sendai）

U-16 Japan National Team 5-0 (1-0, 4-0）U-16 Guinea National Team

Scores
15'　IWAMOTO Sho（U-16 Japan National Team）
52'　SAITO Koki（U-16 Japan National Team）
75'　NISHIKAWA Jun（U-16 Japan National Team）
85'　SAITO Koki（U-16 Japan National Team）
90＋7'　SAITO Koki（U-16 Japan National Team）

Starting Line-ups
GK：SUZUKI Zion
DF：HANDA Riku, NISHIO Ryuya, BABA Seiya, HASHIMOTO Shuya
MF：TANIMOTO Shunsuke, IWAMOTO Sho, YAMAMOTO Rihito, NISHIDO Hisatoshi
FW：SAITO Koki, KURIHARA Ibrahim Junior

Reserves
GK：KITAHARA Itsuki
DF：KAWAMOTO Riyo, IDE Keita, SUMI Kohshiro
MF：ODA Yutaro, NISHIKAWA Jun

Substitutions
61'　NISHIDO Hisatoshi → ODA Yutaro
72'　KURIHARA Ibrahim Junior → NISHIKAWA Jun
90＋8'　HANDA Riku→ KAWAMOTO Riyo

Match Report

U-16 Japan National Team in their third and final game of the ‘U-16 International Dream Cup 2017 JAPAN presented by The Asahi Shimbun’ beat U-16 Guinea 5-0 on Sunday 18 June and claimed an amazing come-from-behind tournament win to become the crowned champions of the Dream Cup for the second time in history.

Japan’s opponents Guinea had been accelerating the development of the young players, and not only did their national team participate in the FIFA U-20 World Cup Korea Republic 2017 in May, but they also secured a place in the upcoming FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 in October. Furthermore, the U-17 Japan squad, who went on a tour to face Guinea last month, struggled against the African side with one win and one loss in the two matches played. In this tournament, the young Guinean internationals have edged 2-1 against both the United States and the Netherlands and performed brilliantly posting two straight wins so far.

The highly-anticipated match started in a wonderful atmosphere with many local children and nearly 6700 spectators cheering from the stands. After the Netherlands beat the United States 5-2 in the first game, Japan needed a win with a minimum five-goal difference to win the competition.

Winning the previous two matches, U-16 Guinea entered the match strongly and took the early initiative with their impressive ability to drive forward and through excellent exchange of passes, while taking advantage of their physical strength to steal the ball with ease from the Japanese counterparts. Then, in the 14th minute, the young Guinean threatened Japan by firing a dazzling long-distance shot from the far right, only for it to be saved superbly goalkeeper SUZUKI Zion. 

Evading some of the menacing chances in the early part of the game, Japan, on the other hand, capitalised on the first opportunity from a throw-in. Forward SAITO Koki surged up close to the byline to send a low cross towards midfielder IWAMOTO Sho, who calmly netted to open the scoring for his side.

The momentum of the game shifted as Japan got used to the tenacity of the Guinean attacks and started to win the tough battles against the side who were fully committed to the ball and fashion few chances of their own. Scoring attempts were made by midfielder NISHIDO Hisatoshi and forward KURIHARA Ibrahim Junior in the 24th and 25th minutes, but both failed to hit the target. Furthermore, another moment to extend their lead came in just after 35 minutes, when defender HANDA Riku on the overlap delivered a cross that was met by Kurihara, but his shot was fired into the side netting. Remainder of the first half saw Japan orchestrate few more chances to stretch their advantage, but with fine saves of the opposing goalkeeper, the scoreline stayed at 1-0 before halftime.

During the break, Japanese coach MORIYAMA Yoshiro instructed his players, ‘We do not have to think about scoring a lot of goals. When we faced U-16 Mail last year, we could not cope with their fierce attacks in the second half. We need to keep the current pace and continue to play with composure to score the next goal.’ As anticipated, Guinea came out aggressively and found their first scoring in chance in the 48th minute, but defender BABA Seiya defended tenaciously and kept the Guinean side from levelling the match. Then, in the 52nd minute, Saito ran past the opposing defender and earned a penalty kick, which he converted and stretched the lead to 2-0 for the Japanese squad.

Reckless fouls were committed by U-16 Guinea who were getting increasingly eager to score, but, as a consequence, they found themselves down to 10 men with their player being sent off for a second yellow card. Thereafter, Japan capitalised on this numerical advantage to gain control of the match. In the 57th minute, Kurihara headed down the long ball for unmarked Saito, but his end product was denied by a superb save from the opposing keeper.

Now with momentum on their side, Japan made few attacking substitutions to score more goals. In the 70th minute, substitute midfielder ODA Yutaro took advantage of his speed to attempt a shot at goal, but only for it to go just wide. Guinea, on the other hand, found their scoring chance off a counter-attack in the 74th minute, but Japanese goalkeeper Suzuki once again showcased an excellent save to keep them from scoring. Then a minute later, forward NISHIKAWA Jun, who just came off the bench, skilfully dodged the challenge of the Guinean defender and fired home a right-footer to score the third for his team.

Now with the title within their reach, Japan were looking to score the fourth and fifth goals required to claim a come-from-behind tournament win. In the 85th minute, they found their fourth from Saito striking strongly into the net off a scramble in front of the goal. However, scoring the fifth was no easy task, as the opposing goalkeeper reacted superbly with excellent saves. With time running out, the young Japanese found their final chance in the 7th minute of added time. Saito was put through cleanly by Oda, and calmly slip past the onrushing keeper to tap in a much-awaited fifth goal. At the same time, the final whistle was blown to seal a stunning 5-0 win over Guinea.

Match Report

As a result, U-16 Japan levelled on points with the Netherlands and Guinea, but surpassed them on goal difference and became the crowned champions of the Dream Cup for the second time in history and for the first time in two years.Looking back at the competition, the young Japanese suffered a comprehensive defeat against the Netherlands in their first match, but had grown significantly from competing courageously in every match of the tournament and gained precious experience for their future.

Coach's and Players' Comments

MORIYAMA Yoshiro, Coach (U-16 Japan National Team)
We faced this U-16 International Dream Cup 2017 with many debutants or players, who have only played once before for the national team. However, my players have improved significantly competing through tough games during this tournament. This, I believe, is the main reason for making an amazing come-from-behind title win. Despite scoring the opener, we conceded consecutive goals in the second half and lost to the Netherlands 3-1. We got off to weak start by allowing two early goals, but came back to score four goals in the second half with strong team effort to secure a 4-2 win against the United States. And today, in the Guinea match where we needed a minimum five-goal difference to win the tournament, and my players managed to score the fifth in added time. In this short span of time, my players made significant progress, and it was a week where I saw a huge potential for their future.

As for their performance in the match, the quality of our plays improved significantly so as our style of football with every match in the tournament. My players did not succumb to the strong pressure from our opponents, strung passes courageously and swiftly at an excellent pace, and exploited the space behind the defenders or send in vertical passes to threaten the opponents’ goal. Furthermore, they stayed physically strong in one-on-one battles and displayed strength on the ball, and did not give away possession easily to the opponents. These are all the reasons I believe we came up with a win today. I must add that Japan suffered a bitter defeat to Mali from Africa in the previous tournament. They capitalised on their physical strength to overwhelm us both offensively and defensively, but learning from this experience, we, along with the coaching staff, were able to make a good preparation for this match. I view this worked to our advantage as well.

After gaining a precious experience from competing in this tournament, I hope now my players will return to their respective clubs and continue their hard work to further improve themselves to be selected for the U-17 squad that will be competing in the FIFA U-17 World Cup India 2017 in October.

Lastly, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to the players and staff of the three participating countries, the Netherlands, the United States and Guinea, and the organisers of the tournament and the staff of the stadium, as well as the city personnel of Sendai in Miyagi Prefecture for giving my players a precious opportunity to participate and experience the various cultural exchange and disaster relief programmes. Thank you very much for all your support.

MF＃9 NISHIDO Hisatoshi (Ichiritsu Funabashi High School)
The tournament ended today, and I feel truly grateful that I was given the opportunity to participate in this competition. I started the first game, but struggled to perform well. In the second match, I was keen on playing better, but felt disappointed after being left out of the game. In the third match, I was determined to get back out there and give all I’ve got. It was a good time to score an opener, and thereafter we managed to control the match more easily. Personally, I was able to combine well with my teammates on the right side and break through the opposing defence. I’m over the moon that we won the tournament. However, I still have to improve on areas such as finishing and decision making once I get back to my club. I’d like to perform well in the Prince Takamado Trophy All Japan Youth (U-18) Football League and the Inter High School Sports Festival, and get called up to the next national-team tour. I will continue my hard work to excel again in the national team as well.

MF＃18 YAMAMOTO Rihito (Tokyo Verdy Junior)
We were under immense pressure today, as we needed score at least five goals and beat Guinea. However, all of us were determined to win the title and competed as one team. I believe this led us to win the tournament. Prior to the match, we were simply looking to win the game, rather scoring a lot of goals. In the second half, we attacked fiercely, and it was our tenacity and persistence towards winning that I believe gave us the title in the end. Personally, I think I defended with stronger physicality compared to the previous appearances in the national team. However, I felt I need to work on controlling the match much better, as such was the case in the first match. Once I get back to my club, I’d like to continue growing by working on my weaknesses and improving further my strengths found during this competition. I’d practise harder than anyone, and get called up to the national squad again.

FW＃10 SAITO Koki (Yokohama FC Youth)
In today’s match, against the opponents coming to put strong pressure on us, we never hesitated to do the hard work and faced them without any fear. I believe this is the reason why we came up with a win. There was an excellent atmosphere around the team on and off the pitch. Personally, I’d like to improve on my finishing, since I don’t think my current performance is sufficient to succeed in the higher-category competition. I need to work even harder to capitalise on the slightest chance I might have. I was named captain of the team during this tournament, but I am not sure whether my performance or conduct really merited to be called one. However, winning the competition was surely a precious experience I am looking to take advantage of for my future. Now I will return to my club team and try my best to lead them as well. If I get selected to play for the national team again, I will perform with confidence and put my best efforts to excel in the squad.

JFA-TV (Japanese version only)

Schedule

*Local Time
*The schedule is subject to change due to the team condition, the weather, etc.

2017-6-14(Wed.), 16(Fri.) and 18(Sun.)
Yurtec Stadium Sendai, Miyagi Prefecture［All Matches Free of Admission］

Tournament Information
Live Streaming of ALL Matches available on JFA-TV (More information on live streaming)